Edition of 1, 2021
From Caballero’s manuscript, MAMMAL, which explores how biology delimits cultural rites and was designated as a Manuscript of Exceptional Merit by Tupelo Press. Her signature, straightforward verse gives voice to what’s left unsaid in that all-important space of home.
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Sense of Humor
Even though I am not funny,
my son laughs.
His laughter does not make me feel funny,
but beholden—
like I owe him a joke now,
like I better get funny soon,
before he is old enough to remark
that mommy is not funny,
but somber—
a string pulled from its spool
into a snap horizon.
You need not drop your gaze.
If it becomes hard to see me
I will be the first to say—
turn away.
